The
United Nations on Thursday estimated that thousands of people still
remain in eastern Aleppo as evacuations escorted by the Syrian Arab
Red Crescent (SARC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) continued overnight and throughout the day in the besieged
northern Syrian city, a UN spokesman told reporters.
"While
operations are ongoing, the evacuation is believed to be in its final
stage," Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily
news briefing here. "The UN estimates that thousands more
remain in eastern Aleppo enclaves."
Since
Wednesday night, UN monitors at the Ramouseh government checkpoint in
Aleppo observed thousands of people departing from eastern Aleppo
mainly in private vehicles that struggled to advance due to a snow
storm and sub-zero temperatures, Haq said. Overall, ICRC estimates
that more than 34,000 people have been evacuated from the besieged
neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo since Dec. 15.
According
to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of Dec. 21, 435 wounded
and sick had been evacuated, of whom 95 patients in critical
conditions had been transferred to Turkey, others were transferred to
hospitals in Idlib and in rural western Aleppo, Haq noted.
"Protection
of civilians leaving these areas remains the biggest concern,"
he said. "The process for evacuation was traumatic, with
crowding, and vulnerable people waiting for hours and exposed to
sub-zero temperatures." "All remaining civilians
must be allowed to safely leave should they choose to do so,"
he said. "Access to people in need to provide them with
life-saving humanitarian assistance is also urgently needed."
The
evacuation is part of a deal concluded recently between Russia and
Turkey. It included the evacuation of civilians from the Shiite towns
of Kafraya and Foa, which are besieged by the rebels in the
northwestern province of Idlib. It came as the Syrian army was on a
crushing offensive against the rebel-held part of Aleppo, which
resulted in wresting back control over 99 percent of eastern Aleppo.
The evacuation operation has been ongoing since last Thursday, and
the rebels were leaving in buses and cars through the Ramouseh
crossing south of Aleppo toward rebel-held areas in the southwestern
countryside of Aleppo.
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